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How to properly take care of forged irons


jswang519
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i just got a set of new Mizuno JPX 800 pro. They look so beautiful and I would like to try to keep it that way for as long as possible. I already have neoprene head covers that I plan to keep on whenever I transport them. That should prevent some club chatter and minor dings. I need some advice on how to clean them during and after a round of golf. I use the Frogger brush to clean my clubs off on the course. Does using wire brushes scratch forged irons over a period of time? I also keep a towel with me to wipe off after every shot. After a round of golf, what would be the best way to clean off the irons well. I used to clean my irons off with a clorox wipe and a paper towel. Does anyone else do this? Sometimes I run them under the faucet and dry them with a paper towel afterwards. Any thoughts?
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In my opinion clubs are meant to be used, but that said, washing after every round and getting a bag that separates each club can go a long way.

Best way to clean an iron is with a brass brush and water. Soak just the heads in water for 3-5 min give em a once over with a brass brush and dry with a terrycloth towel. If they are really crusty you can add some soap but not really necessary.

If you'd like to buff out scratches here and there some 400 grit sandpaper can do the trick.

Clorox wipes don't do anything for a golf club, they don't need to be disinfected just washed.

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Head covers are the worse thing you can do to them.  Traps in moisture, makes 'em rust.  Just let them be free and enjoy them.

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Forged clubs are going to get dings and marks on them. No way to avoid it. You can protect them all you want, but it will still happen. You won't know it when it happens, or see how the dings get on there, but they will get there. Best to just let it go and realize they won't look new forever. That is part of the charm. As long as the face and grooves are in good condition, it won't affect play at all. Iron covers are fine if you want to deal with the hassle of them. Rust won't be an issue unless the finish comes off somehow. Which, if you take care of them, won't happen anyway. Cleaning them as you go through the round is fine. Wiping with a wet towel get the job done most of the time. For the stubborn dirt a small brush works. Then every once in a while take them in and give them a good cleaning. Warm water in a bucket with a little dishsoap works fine. You can use your frogger brush to get the grooves. I have an old toothbrush that I use for cleaning them and it works fine. I've heard the Magic Erasers work good, but I don't see the need to spend extra money to clean clubs.

I will judge my rounds much more by the quality of my best shots than the acceptability of my worse ones.

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Originally Posted by Ghetto P

Head covers are the worse thing you can do to them.  Traps in moisture, makes 'em rust.  Just let them be free and enjoy them.



Not if they are used merely for transporting, like the OP mentioned.

Driver:  :callaway: Diablo Octane
Fairway Wood:   :adams: Speedline 3W
Hybrid:   adams.gif A7OS 3 Hybrid 
Irons:   :callaway:  2004 Big Bertha 4-LW

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I'd go with the iron covers after the round ... I once used a cover on every other iron to eliminate the clatter -- it worked. Or leave them on - until you use an iron, then put the cover in a bag pocket. The poster is correct about rust - Mizuno says if the club is wet, it will rust.

On the range, brush the club face every 5 shots or so - hitting range balls against a dirty face will accelerate the wear on the face.

After a round, use your frogger and towel to clean and dry the clubheads and replace the iron covers.

good luck

Ping G400 Max 9/TPT Shaft, TEE EX10 Beta 4, 5 wd, PXG 22 HY, Mizuno JPX919F 5-GW, TItleist SM7 Raw 55-09, 59-11, Bettinardi BB39

 

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I've posted this a few times before, but Mizuno has (or used to have) a page that gave their suggestions.  I'm sure you can find it with a forum search.  The bottom line was 1) do not use head covers, 2) use only a plastic bristle brush to avoid scratching the outer coating, and 3) clean and thoroughly dry after use.

I personally don't care about dings and such, but I can imagine I might if I'd bought $900 of shiny new irons rather than $200 of used ones.  If I were concerned about that, I would probably put head covers on when I was transporting them, but take them off when they were just driving a short way or when being stored.  That should avoid the worst dings and hopefully avoid inducing rust.  However, like I said, I don't worry about it and I don't bother with head covers.

In the bag:
FT-iQ 10° driver, FT 21° neutral 3H
T-Zoid Forged 15° 3W, MX-23 4-PW
Harmonized 52° GW, Tom Watson 56° SW, X-Forged Vintage 60° LW
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What if Mizuno just suggests not using iron covers because they're golf's answer to the car bra. Yeah they're that cool.

PR1293.jpg

Originally Posted by zeg

I've posted this a few times before, but Mizuno has (or used to have) a page that gave their suggestions.  I'm sure you can find it with a forum search.  The bottom line was 1) do not use head covers, 2) use only a plastic bristle brush to avoid scratching the outer coating, and 3) clean and thoroughly dry after use.

I personally don't care about dings and such, but I can imagine I might if I'd bought $900 of shiny new irons rather than $200 of used ones.  If I were concerned about that, I would probably put head covers on when I was transporting them, but take them off when they were just driving a short way or when being stored.  That should avoid the worst dings and hopefully avoid inducing rust.  However, like I said, I don't worry about it and I don't bother with head covers.



Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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You don't need "yet another brush" - brass, stainless or otherwise - around the house or in your golf bag. Just use an old toothbrush to clean out the grooves. Naturally, it'll be easier after a brief soak. If you want to keep a toothbrush in your bag, you can simply cut the handle short.

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For one, NEVER use a brass bristled brush with forged irons.  It will scratch them, wear down the grooves quicker and it will contaminate the metal.  ALWAYS use a nylon bristled brush, clean them and dry them throughly afterwards.  Once they are dry, it would be a good idea to spray a rag down with WD-40 or some gun oil and then wipe the clubheads down with the rag.  The thin coating of oil protects them from moisture so that they wont rust.

Also, NEVER use iron covers.  If there is any moisture on the clubheads after your shot, the covers prevent the moisture from drying and will cause them to rust.

Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

Woods: :mizuno: JPX 850 9.5*, :mizuno: JPX 850 15*, :mizuno: JPX-850 19*, :mizuno: JPX Fli-Hi #4, :mizuno: JPX 800 Pro 5-PW, :mizuno: MP T-4 50-06, 54-09 58-10, :cleveland: Smart Square Blade and :bridgestone: B330-S

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Originally Posted by TitleistWI

For one, NEVER use a brass bristled brush with forged irons.  It will scratch them, wear down the grooves quicker and it will contaminate the metal.  ALWAYS use a nylon bristled brush, clean them and dry them throughly afterwards.  Once they are dry, it would be a good idea to spray a rag down with WD-40 or some gun oil and then wipe the clubheads down with the rag.  The thin coating of oil protects them from moisture so that they wont rust.

Also, NEVER use iron covers.  If there is any moisture on the clubheads after your shot, the covers prevent the moisture from drying and will cause them to rust.


This is an extremely ignorant post... Modern forged irons are made out of steel with a hardness a little over 400, brass has a hardness of a litle over 100 so a brass brush will never scratch steel thus it is physically incapable of wearing down your grooves or anything like that. As for "contaminating" the metal, im not even sure what that means but if your thinking that the metals will mix and somehow become softer... you are again wrong as this is also not possible at any temperature you can create in your living room.

As for headcovers he clearly stated in the first post they would be used for transport. It is true they can trap moisture but stainless steel is really very rust resistant and as long as the clubs are not stored with headcovers on between rounds they are unlikely to form rust.

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nickent.gif 6-PW 3DX Hybrid Irons, cleveland.gif High Bore 09 GW-SW, touredge.gif 60* Wedge, maxfli.gif Revolution Blade Insert Putter
 
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Originally Posted by LankyLefty

This is an extremely ignorant post... Modern forged irons are made out of steel with a hardness a little over 400, brass has a hardness of a litle over 100 so a brass brush will never scratch steel thus it is physically incapable of wearing down your grooves or anything like that. As for "contaminating" the metal, im not even sure what that means but if your thinking that the metals will mix and somehow become softer... you are again wrong as this is also not possible at any temperature you can create in your living room.

As for headcovers he clearly stated in the first post they would be used for transport. It is true they can trap moisture but stainless steel is really very rust resistant and as long as the clubs are not stored with headcovers on between rounds they are unlikely to form rust.


Thanks for that. I was going to offer two somewhat anecdotal stories in support of what you just said.

The first is that I've used my brass bristled brush for as long as I can remember and have never seen a single scratch, regardless of how hard I press, on my clubs.

The second is that when I talked to the Frogger people - who offer a plain nylon brush as well as their regular brush - they said that the brass/nylon brush is perfectly safe, but they only offer the nylon only brush because some people have misconceptions about brass brushes scratching their clubs. :-)

Oh, and I too use iron covers when I travel.

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I've used iron covers all the time at least two seasons. No problem as long as the clubheads are not soaked. That's where the towel comes into play. I've ditched the covers and now only use them when travelling with the bag. I don't see any dings on my clubs either. I might find some if I look close, but I play golf with my clubs, I don't put them on a pedestal in my living room. As long as I don't manhandle them, all I will ever fear is the rocks hidden from view. There are bags which lock up the clubs to avoid them from banging into eachother. My clubs got some cuts here and there after finding a rock down in the ground. A brass brush won't hurt the club, but I've gotten along fine with a towel and soft brush as long as I can remember. I just don't like the feel of the metal on metal. Never had a piece of sod on the club I couldn't get off either.

Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

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Is the face the only part you clean with a brush? There's no way I'm scrubbing the back side or my irons (or anywhere there's paintfill) with a brass brush. Besides, brass doesn't seem to hold the suds when I use soapy water.

Originally Posted by LankyLefty

This is an extremely ignorant post... Modern forged irons are made out of steel with a hardness a little over 400, brass has a hardness of a litle over 100 so a brass brush will never scratch steel thus it is physically incapable of wearing down your grooves or anything like that. As for "contaminating" the metal, im not even sure what that means but if your thinking that the metals will mix and somehow become softer... you are again wrong as this is also not possible at any temperature you can create in your living room.

As for headcovers he clearly stated in the first post they would be used for transport. It is true they can trap moisture but stainless steel is really very rust resistant and as long as the clubs are not stored with headcovers on between rounds they are unlikely to form rust.



Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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I've been using the Brass/Nylon brush made by Frogger and I love it. Everyone should look into getting one. The retractable cord attached to it is a neat feature as well.

I appreciate all the tips and advice in this thread. Looks like I will try to remember to keep the head covers off when storing them, because they're not going to bang against each other anyway, so why not leave them off. Head covers only be used for transporting and if I know they'll be banging against each other a lot in the back of the golf cart. As for cleaning them, I'm going to use a wet towel to clean off any debris and dry it off immediately with a dry towel.

BTW. I've took the Mizuno JPX 800 pros out to the range twice already. HOLY CRAP! Everyone needs a set of these irons in their bag. Perfect amount of forgiveness with great distance, and it doesn't feel like you're hitting the golf ball with a chunky piece of metal. Even though I am not at the point where I am able to shape my shots yet, I fell like the clubs are able to shape shots really easily.

Now off to look for a good Hybrid....My longest iron is the 4 iron. Typically, which hybrid do people bag if their longest iron is a 4 iron, or 23* loft?

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Originally Posted by LankyLefty

. As for "contaminating" the metal, im not even sure what that means but if your thinking that the metals will mix and somehow become softer... you are again wrong as this is also not possible at any temperature you can create in your living room.

Ummm, it actually has to do with corrosion.  Every seen a penny turn green?  Yeah, same thing.  Why would it somehow making the metals become softer be a bad thing anyways?

Im merely repeating what Mizuno, Miura, Endo and other various forgers of irons are saying for club care.  Id say they know a thing or 2 about caring for forged irons.


Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

Woods: :mizuno: JPX 850 9.5*, :mizuno: JPX 850 15*, :mizuno: JPX-850 19*, :mizuno: JPX Fli-Hi #4, :mizuno: JPX 800 Pro 5-PW, :mizuno: MP T-4 50-06, 54-09 58-10, :cleveland: Smart Square Blade and :bridgestone: B330-S

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Note: This thread is 4186 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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